The End Of The Line
by themreaper
Summary: After news of Freddie's death spreads, the gang worries for Effy and her well-being. Who can keep her from flying off the handle? Katie Fucking Fitch, of course.
1. Chapter 1

**I haven't read many post-season 4 fanfics. Maybe one or two here or there, though nearly none of them touched on Freddie's death. And if they did, they just brushed it off like it was no big deal which I thought was kind of weird. I feel like Freddie's death would be something that would turn each of their lives upside down not be brushed aside.**

**That being said, I'm still not too sure how much this will focus on Keffy. I blame Trufreak89 for making me ship them. I didn't see how much potential they had as a couple until I read Surviving Bristol. Then I rewatched Skins and shipped them SO HARD. So yes, there will be some Keffy in this. Just not sure how much yet. **

**I'm posting this at 1am so I apologize for any mistakes or typos. Anyway, enough of my rambling. Enjoy.**

* * *

For the first time throughout the entire night, Cook finally stopped moving. He brought his throbbing, clearly broken fists up to his face for inspection, the moon providing him with just enough light to see the blood drenching his fists. He put one hand to his face, wiping the blood from his brow caused by the gash on his head. The pain in his chest was surely caused by one or two broken ribs at the least, and he had been walking with a limp. To put it shortly, James Cook was a bloody fucking mess.

John Foster. The man who fucked up the love of his life, and killed his best friend. He was the cause of his current state, but it was nothing compared to the state Cook left him in. It had been decided the moment he happened upon Freddie's bloodied clothes. At that moment it was clear.

One of them had to die.

And there was no way Cook was going to let Foster beat him. He'd survived too much already to be beaten by a fucked up old man. A fucked up old man who happened to have a baseball bat. A fucked up old man who had beaten his best friend to death with that baseball bat. A fucked up old man that caused Effy to spiral out of control.

Cook took a deep breath, finally allowing his thoughts to invade him. Another first for the night.

First thing's first, he had to get out of Bristol. A bullshit assault charge was one thing, and even then JJ couldn't handle keeping him in his closet. A murder charge was another. There'd be fuck loads of people looking for him, probably ransacking the shit out of his friends' houses. They'd be the first people the police would turn to, whether they knew anything or not.

His thoughts drifted to Effy. Shit. What could he tell her? _Oh hey, yeah, your crazy-as-fuck psychologist beat Freddie to death. Just thought I'd let ya know. 'Kay, yeah, bye. _She was barely hanging on when Cook left her, and news like that was sure to throw her off the deep-end.

Cook pulled his phone out, going through his contacts, the light blinding in the dark. Was there anyone he _could_ tell? Lately, everyone had their own shit-ton of problems. JJ had Laura and her kid. Effy was too fucked in the head. Panda and Thomas were goin' off to Harvard. Katie was off doing her own thing. Naomi and Emily were probably still sorting out their issues. Last thing any of them needed was to be an accessory to murder.

Still, he couldn't just bail on everyone. They'd know something was off. Him and Freddie disappearing one right after the other? Besides, someone had to know the truth. There was no way he was going to let his best friend die in vain. He was not someone to rot and be forgotten about.

Decision made, Cook pressed a button and put the phone up to his ear.

* * *

Insistent buzzing roused Naomi from her deep, and for the first time in what seemed like a very long time, peaceful sleep. Opening her eyes, she squinted against the dark, a slight smile spreading across her face when she realized her position. Emily was tucked into her side, breathing into Naomi's neck. Naomi's arms were wrapped around her lover as if someone may steal her away while they slept, her chin on top of Emily's head. For a split second, Naomi nuzzled her face against Emily's hair before she remembered what woke her up in the first place.

With a sigh, she regretfully detached herself from the love of her life, reaching for the phone with a frown.

"Ngh...Hello?" Naomi couldn't keep the sleepiness from her voice as she greeted whomever was on the other end. Maybe she should have checked caller idea first.

"Naomiikins, hey." To her surprise, it was Cook's voice on the other end, but instead of his normal happy-go-lucky voice, she heard a tone in his voice that was unfamiliar. He sounded defeated.

"Cook?" She glanced at the time on her phone, "It's four in the morning. Why the hell are you ca-"

"Freds is dead."

That made her stop. She sat up, bringing her phone away from her face to stare at it before bringing it back to her ear. "Pardon? Cook if this is your idea of a joke it isn't fu-"

"_Freds is dead._" He repeated, more forcefully this time, his voice cracking. "That quack of a doctor, the one that fucked Effy up, he killed him. I found Freds's clothes when I went to his place. They...They had blood on them." Naomi heard him take a shaky breath on the other end, "So I killed him."

"Jesus Christ," she paused, not able to believe it was really happening "So what do you need from me then?" There had to be some way she could help out, but from the sound of his voice it seemed as if there was very little she could do for Cook's well-being. Fuck it, she'd give him a place to stay if he needed. She'd lie through her teeth for him.

"Just listen babes, I gotta skip town for a little bit. I needed someone to know why. Tell the rest of the gang on my behalf? Call a meeting if you have to...And Naomiikins?"

"Yeah?"

"Get someone to take care of Effy for me, yeah? I don't think she's gonna handle this well," with that he hung up.

Naomi dropped her phone, bringing her hands up to run her fingers through her hair. "Jesus Christ."

"Who was that?"

Naomi nearly jumped out of her skin. Her eyes shot down to Emily's as she stared up at her, brown eyes full of questions. "Cook...That was Cook."

She felt Emily's hands on her shoulders, rubbing soothing circles. "What'd he say?"

For a second, Naomi wondered whether to tell her or wait. It was stupid considering how they were just managing to put the pieces back together from her last moment of weakness. She shook her head. No, she would be honest. Cook wanted them to know anyway. "It was about Freddie," She sighed, "He's dead." It still hadn't sank in yet. Freddie. Dead. Cook. Murder. There was no way she could wrap her mind around such an insane turn of events.

"Oh my God," Emily whispered.

"Yeah."

"Well, what are we going to do?"

"Tomorrow. We'll worry about it tomorrow. Cook wants me to call a meeting so I could tell everyone what happened."

Naomi most worried about Effy. The last thing she needed was to hear about Freddie, but she also didn't need to be lied to. They'd have to look after her carefully. Keep her in their line of sight for as long as they could.

Effy was going to need as much help as she could get.


	2. Chapter 2

**I apologize for not updating this for a while. But I plan on updating this a little more regularly now that I have time to (and now that I finished I've Loved You From The First Time I Saw You I can focus more on this). Not much happens in this chapter, just a little chatter among everyone. I didn't want this to get TOO long. **

**Enjoy**

* * *

"Are you telling me that Freddie...?"

Naomi sighed, realizing that to say the words aloud would make them reality. "Dead."

"And Cook..."

"Is on the run as we speak."

A silence spread throughout the entire shed. Katie, the only one who had really spoken much during the entire exchange, leaned back against the couch. "Why does shit like this gotta happen to us? I mean, whose God did we piss off?"

"God or no God we must figure a solution to this." Thomas clearly enunciated his words, as if thoroughly and carefully thought out. Though his thoughts didn't go much beyond that. The whirlwind of information spun round and round too quickly for him to understand.

"Well, what about Efs?" Pandora finally piped up, her face solemn. "I don't want her to end up in the funny farm again..." Effy was the only one who hadn't showed. Naomi had made sure to discuss the situation with the others, to decide how exactly they should tell Effy. Naomi had her strong face on while Emily looked rather sad. Pandora and Thomas kept exchanging horrified glances, and JJ was shaking so badly he looked like he was going to break down in 2.5 seconds. Karen was in the corner, uncharacteristically silent, tears streaming down her face. Katie's expression was stone. At first, when the news was first presented, she looked surprised, but beyond that point she held strong.

"She's not going to end up in the funny farm again," Naomi frowned, "Well, I hope not..." She shook her head, looking from person to person. "We need to find a way to take care of her. At least, until this whole thing blows over."

"How could Freddie's death just...blow over?" It was Karen, whispering just loud enough for the other to hear.

Naomi flinched, not meaning the words to come out as harsh as they did. "I mean we need to help her through it."

Pandora stared at the ground, "I'm 'pposed to go to Harvard soon...I can't help Efs from Harvard, can I?"

"Freddie was supposed to help me with university..." Thomas whispered, eyes dropping to the ground as well.

JJ stood suddenly, his face turning bright red. "Everyone just shut up. JUST SHUT UP!" The suddenness of JJ's outburst made everyone jump. His breath was erratic, shaky even. Clearly he was just moments away from a panic attack.

Emily jumped to his side, rubbing his shoulders whilst telling him to breathe. He obliged, slowly but surely calming himself down. "W-We need a plan," he said after he could speak again.

Naomi nodded, "That's what I was thinking. The cops are going to be all over us, and from what it sounded like, Cook was already on the move. He didn't tell me where he was going, but I think it's best if he stayed out of Bristol until everything's calmed down."

Emily, still by JJ's side, spoke up: "Could he plea self-defense. I mean, if they really check the place they'll probably find..." She paused, not wanting to say the word 'body' aloud. "And Foster would be the one in trouble, right?"

"Yeah, but there's still that assault charge he has to worry about. He was on the run to begin with, anyway. It's not as bad as a murder charge, but the police still want him locked up," Naomi murmured.

Silence filled the shed again.

"W-Wh-Wh-W-What about my closet? I could keep him in there for awhile. T-Th-The police didn't find him last time." Though he knew the plan was idiotic, JJ was trying to hold on to as much normal as he could get. One best friend dead, and the other on the run left him alone. Sure, he had Laura and Albert, but the information was more than he could take. He brought his hands up to fist in his hair and started hitting the side of his head, willing it to think of plan that could save his friends. It'd been a long time since he'd been this bad; not after he finally found that normality that he'd been craving for his entire life. Maybe Effy wasn't the only the gang should worry about.

"JJ, calm down!" Emily again. "We just need...Ugh, what am I talking about? I have no idea what we should do. With Cook or-"

"I think we need to stop worrying about Cook. I hate to say it – though he can be a bastard – he can handle himself," Katie interrupted. It was clear to everyone in the group just how much Katie had matured. No longer was she that selfish bitch that felt the need to control anything and everything, especially her sister. "I'm more worried about Effy."

Emily blinked, not expecting that answer. "Really? Since when?" Her tone was genuinely surprised, which in turn, struck a nerve in Katie.

"Since now. Don't act all surprised over it...bitch."

"_Well, you know what-_"

"Look, I'd hate to break up this wonderful family conversation, but I think it would be better to get back to what we were talking about before." Naomi knew better than anyone how quickly an argument could escalate between the twins. Both shot her a dirty look.

"Who the hell put you in charge, anyway?" Katie scowled. Maturity or not, she had very little patience.

"I don't see anyone else sparkin' up ideas, do you?" Naomi shot back, eying the rest of her friends.

Everyone else shifted uncomfortably, knowing she was right. "It is just so hard to believe that Freddie is gone," Thomas said. Pandora nodded after him.

Just as Naomi was about to speak again when Karen's voice interrupted her.

"Funeral."

The group turned to Karen, Naomi frowned, "What?"

"I want a funeral for Freddie." Karen spoke just as loud as her body allowed. She was exhausted. "He deserves it."

Naomi's eyes lowered, "You're right, he does."

"What are we going to say to Effy, though? 'Hey, your boyfriend's dead. Have fun.' I'm sure that would fucking go over well, wouldn't it?" Katie avoided eye contact with Karen, but her expression remained unchanged.

Now it was Naomi's turn to shoot her a dirty look. "Look, do you have a better idea? She's gonna find out some way."

"Yeah, someone has to tell her," both Emily and Pandora said at the same time.

Another lengthy pause filled the room then: "Fine. I will." Everyone looked at Katie in shock.

"I was going to say we tell her together," Naomi said.

Emily stared at her sister in shock, trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. Lately, her sister had taken quite a new approach to Effy. She used to nothing but curse about her behind her back, but now it seemed like Katie actually had sympathy for her. Emily couldn't help her surprise. "Katie..."

"Us crowding around her won't do any good. Effy will need a little room to breathe," The room exchanged glances with one another before settling their eyes on Katie, "Look, I'll do it. I can help her I think."

Naomi nodded, "If you want to, go ahead. If you change your mind, ring me."

The meeting was adjourned with everyone still a little shocked. Who knew that something could be normal one day, and then turn to shit the next. They were all just getting over what happened to Sofia; gluing back the pieces of broken relationships back together.

It was weird how much people could change.


End file.
